Corporate Renewable Buyers Demand More Action on Environmental, Social Justice: Report

The demands on developers from corporate renewable energy buyers for improved environmental and social justice measures soar amidst growing consumer pressure on businesses to demonstrate the net positives of their operations and supply chains, said LevelTen Energy in its survey.

LevelTen Energy is the leading provider of renewable transaction infrastructure and the world’s largest online marketplace for power purchase agreements (PPAs).

According to the recent survey, the increasing demand comes as trends accelerate for businesses to demonstrate their progress against environment and social governance (ESG) pledges. This falls amidst mounting concerns for the climate emergency and growing awareness of social inequity spotlighted by movements including Black Lives Matter.

Out of the 77 project developers on the LevelTen Marketplace, nearly 7 out of 10 respondents said they are working to improve organisational ESG practices as a direct result of buyer demand for additional measures. While, 2/3 reported having been asked about hiring and training locally and over half had been asked to disclose diversity statistics of the company.

Explaining these results, Zach Starsia, Director of Accounts, LevelTen Energy said, “the hyper-visibility brought on by constant connectivity means that companies are now more aware of their impact on people across the full length of their supply chains. And now that consumers have access to a range of options for quality goods and services, the impact their money makes is a growing factor in their decision of where to spend it.”

“The ruthless focus on profits that was once lauded, is now considered at best, old fashioned and at worst a risk to reputations. Instead, businesses that will thrive will be the ones who invest in the communities in which they operate – which is where impact PPAs come in. They are a terrific way for organisations to meet their environmental and social justice goals in a financially prudent manner,” Zach added.

“More and more, developers are looking internally to create positive change on an organisational level, and equally corporate offtakers are seeking to contract with such parties more often. Procuring renewable PPAs with an eye for maximising social impact has a very real role to play in creating a better tomorrow,” said Flemming Sorensen, LevelTen Energy’s Vice President, Europe.